Hotel owners pitch new Great Falls events center

The location of a proposed multipurpose events facility is shown in red. Under this option, the new facility would be attached to the existing Four Seasons Arena at Montana ExpoPark.(Photo: Great Falls Tourism Business Improvement District)

Constructing a high-profile, publicly owned multipurpose events center in Great Falls would draw visitors and business to the city while boosting the community’s quality of life, according to hotel owners who are backing the idea.

They’re seeking a public-private partnership with Cascade County commissioners to finance the center, which, if constructed, would be located at county-owned Montana ExpoPark.

Commissioners gave no promises Tuesday to members of The Great Falls Tourism Business Improvement District, who sought their input, but they didn’t discourage them from continuing to explore the plan, either.

Commissioners encouraged them to take the plan next to the Montana ExpoPark Advisory Board for further discussion.

Members of the Tourism Business Improvement District said it’s time for the community to invest in its aging entertainment facilities. A new center, they said, would increase the size of events and the audience.

The district, which is made up of hotel owners, hired Minneapolis-based Conventions, Sports and Leisure (CSL) to prepare a feasibility analysis of a multipurpose center.

It was completed last month.

An iconic spectator and entertainment arena could transform Great Falls in terms of quality of life, community prestige and perception by visitors and non-locals, the report says. It also would attract money-spending visitors and possibly spur spin-off retail development, it adds.

Cost estimates in the report range from $34 million to $42 million, depending on the option, but it’s very early in the process, said Bob Dompier, chairman of the district and the general manager of Holiday Inn in Great Falls.

“It just all depends on, ‘Can we sell this to the public?’” Dompier said.

Sporting events, concerts, family shows and rodeos, as well as “flat floor” events such as conventions and trade shows, are some of the potential uses, the report says.

Montana High School Association state tournaments and other amateur sports would likely use the arena the most, if a minor league sports franchise was not the primary tenant, the report says.

The marketing portion of the report also discusses minor league hockey, basketball and arena football as possibilities, but notes that many minor leagues tend to be transitory and should not be relied upon for long-term facility planning.

Market research indicated a demand for a multipurpose event center that could host a wide variety of events, the report says.

The Tourism Business Improvement District tries to do everything it can to bring more people to town, Dompier said. Several other cities are actively looking at building multipurpose facilities, he said.

“Some city is going to step up and move forward, and I think we would like it to be Great Falls,” he said.

Members want a new facility to be located at Montana ExpoPark, the 133-acre fairgrounds run by Cascade County, he said.

It is centrally located and has access to the interstate, the report noted.

The seating capacity would be 6,000 to 7,000. The preferred location is next door to the Four Season’s Arena at ExpoPark. The seating capacity of Four Seasons is 5,300.

The TBID is a marketing entity, self-funded through Great Falls hotels, to promote and increase tourism. TBIDs are funded through an assessment of certain lodging facilities of $1 per rented room per night.

Dompier suggested a public-private partnership between the group and the county.

The groups says it would be willing to use assessments to its members to repay a portion of any public bonds issued by the county that would be issued to pay for construction.

And Dompier told commissioners the district would be willing to take the lead in marketing the plan to the public.

“We’re not just going to drop this on you and say, ‘Here it is, goodbye,’” he said.

An election would be needed to approve bonds to finance a multipurpose facility, and commissioners can’t expend taxpayers dollars in support or in opposition to a ballot question, Commissioner Joe Briggs said.

“This is going to require a great deal of sales,” he said.

The timing for a bond election would be crucial to the success or failure, he said.

The 20-year general obligation bonds the county is paying on the adult detention facility will be paid off in 2016, and an election before that wouldn’t be a good idea, Briggs said.

The county is collecting $720,000 a year from residents to pay off the bonds.

An important goal in building the facility would be attracting visitors to the area for events that existing facilities can’t accommodate, which would generate hotel room nights with related economic impact, according to the report.

Estimates of the economic impact of an event center, over 15 years, range from $14.3 million to $61 million in direct spending and indirect spending, the report says.

While the county-owned Montana ExpoPark and the city’s Mansfield Center can host a wide array of events, gaps exist in event facility offerings for certain types of spectator and entertainment events, the report says.

“It is early in the process and we’ll be certainly be listening to all of the county residents on their thoughts and their concerns about moving forward,” said Karen Schermele Venetz, administrative and marketing director of the Tourism Business Improvement District.

ExpoPark had a net operating deficit of $1 million in each of the past two fiscal years, the report says.

The addition of a new event center at ExpoPark could generate $120,000 in net income annually, and possibly as much $205,000, the report says.

The projection will vary depending on the center’s ability to attract minor league sports tenants and other events, among other factors, the report says.

If a new multipurpose facility helps reduce the annual subsidy the county gives the operation, Briggs said, that would be a positive, but he added he needs to see additional details.

“Ultimately, it’s the taxpayers’ decision whether they see enough value in this to support the bond,” he said.

Commissioner Jane Weber recommended that Tourism Business Improvement District members set up a meeting with the Montana ExpoPark Advisory Board, which advises commissioners and ExpoPark staff on fairgrounds operations.

Members said they planned to do just that. They also said they would arrange for officials with CSL, the report’s author, to be on hand to explain the findings.